Imereti. Since 2016, GYLA has been defending a person dismissed from a health and social protection service of the City Hall of Tskaltubo municipality. He was disputing his unlawful dismissal from work for political reasons. On October 25, 2019, the parties came to the agreement. According to terms of the agreement, the beneficiary of GYLA will receive GEL 20,000 as a labor compensation for the forcibly missed period.  Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender filed a constitutional lawsuit with the Constitutional Court of Georgia and requested that the rule of selection of Supreme Court judicial candidates[1] by the High Council of Justice be declared unconstitutional. The Public Defender considers that the procedure for selecting Supreme Court judicial candidates violates the constitutionally guaranteed rights of a Georgian citizen to hold public office (Constitution, 25-1), to have access to a fair trial (Constitution, 31-1, first sentence) and the principle of an independent and impartial trial (Constitution, 31-1). The constitutional lawsuit is based on the findings of the Venice Commission and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), as well as the factual circumstances identified as a result of monitoring the selection process (by the Public Defender of Georgia, OSCE/ODIHR). Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On June 12, 2019 the bill known as the fourth wave of judicial reforms was submitted to the Parliament. “The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary considers that, among the changes, the specification of grounds for disciplinary responsibility of judges and separation of the selection of listeners of the High School of Justice (HSoJ) from the functions of the High Council of Justice (HCOJ) is to be commended. At the same time, the bill introduces several innovations that the Coalition is critical of”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The “No to Phobia!” civil platform responds to developments occurred on November 8, 2019 in regard to the premiere of the film “And then we danced”. “We consider that measures taken by law enforcement agencies were not sufficient to eliminate actions of violent groups and threats coming from them. It is important for the state to demonstrate respective efforts and strong political will while struggling against hate-motivated crimes”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.gdi.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. EU and UNDP support a discussion series to assess rural development in Georgia in 2017-2020 and set priorities for 2021-2027 Representatives of the Government of Georgia met members of civil society,  local authorities and communities in Borjomi to give them an account on the progress achieved in rural development under the national strategy 2017-2020 and discuss key priorities areas in 2021-2027. The discussion was organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the support of the European Union under the ENPARD programme, as part of the broader effort to promote rural development in Georgia.  Read more…  Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) has filed a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court. EMC considers unconstitutional those legal norms, which determine boundaries of the right to strike, on the one hand, as well as grounds and procedures for its restriction, on the other hand. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Third Leadership Academy was held in Tbilisi. Human Rights House Tbilisi is implementing a project with IREX Europe, a French-based NGO, aimed at promoting and strengthening the leadership skills of young women human rights defenders.  This 26-month project covers 5 countries of Eurasia with the support of the European Commission. The leadership academy in Georgia is co-financed by the Human Rights House Foundation.  About 30 young human rights activists from Georgia and Azerbaijan participated in the Third Leadership Academy. The topic of the Academy was non-profit and social marketing for human rights defenders.  Read more…  Source: https://hrht.ge

Tbilisi. Today, the EU -Funded project “Establishing Efficient Protection and Control System of Geographical Indications (GIs) in Georgia” kicked off at the Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace.  The event marked the start of the Twinning aimed to promote effective quality policy related to geographical indications, to support fair competition and protection of GIs, to improve current situations for the benefit of Georgian population. The objective of the Twinning project is to support the development of “Appellations of Origin (AOs)” and “Geographical Indications (GIs)” systems in Georgia through the creation of effective supporting tools with the provisions of the European Union’s GIs protection system.  Read more…  Source: https://eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) demands passing of an active policy by the state in order to address problems that exist in the country and are related to gambling games. “According to available studies, engagement of population, including children, into gambling games is alarmingly high in Georgia. Both spreading of gambling games and socioeconomic vulnerability are closely intertwined phenomena and, in certain cases, they even condition each other”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes the report on the activities of members of TI Georgia’s Committees of concerned citizens of Imereti in 2018-2019. “In 2019, members of TI Georgia’s Committees of Concerned Citizens applied to the self-government bodies of Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Baghdati, and Tkibuli with a request to address 38 infrastructural problems/needs. The city halls of the municipalities expressed their readiness to address 24 of these problems/needs”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia made a statement on the Developments in the Patriarchate.  ‘In recent days, some clergymen have stated via the media that they are aware of alleged sexual harassment and coercion committed by clergy. They also indicated that some of those actions might be committed against minors’, - The Public Defender mentioned, - ‘I would like to make it clear that the allegations contain signs of actions punishable by the Criminal Code of Georgia. Accordingly, I urge the law enforcement agencies to launch a probe into each similar allegation. I also urge anyone, who is aware of alleged criminal actions, to immediately report to the appropriate authorities’.  Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

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Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes the report on activities of members of TI Georgia’s Committees of concerned citizens of Adjara in 2018-2019. “In November 2018, members of TI Georgia’s Committees of Concerned Citizens identified 52 problems and needs in 15 settlements of Batumi, Keda, Shuakhevi, and Khulo. With the aim of addressing them, our organization applied to the municipalities at the end of last year. We received a promise to resolve 25 of the said problems from the city halls of the municipalities”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. With EU and FAO support, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia consults stakeholders on a revised draft of Agricultural Extension Strategy.  The draft strategy was presented to representatives of major stakeholders, international donor organizations and development partners. The primary goal of the strategy is to improve the competitiveness of the Georgian agricultural sector by delivering quality and cost-efficient advising services to the farmers. This is to be achieved by transforming the existing 54 information and consultation centers into a modern extension service focused on real needs of farmers.  Read more…  Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. On the initiative of the Public Defender of Georgia and with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the General Comments of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will be available in Georgian from November 5, 2019. ‘The Public Defender hopes that availability of the aforementioned international documents in Georgian will significantly help persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in their daily activities, to actively use the definitions and approaches of the Committee in order to improve the quality of protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the country’, - Is mentioned in The Public Defender’s Office’s information. Read more… Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to media reports regarding the raid on a local Christian shrine near the village of Khulgumo (Akhalkalaki municipality). The organization calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to conduct a swift and effective investigation into the case of the alleged hate-motivated crime. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender addressed the Prime Minister and the Minister of Internal Affairs with a general proposal to discuss individual cases of violation of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly of the LGBT+ community in the recent years at the state level and to plan preventive and reactive measures in this direction.  ‘In the general proposal, the Public Defender reviewed the situation of realization of freedom of expression of LGBT+ community in the country, referring to the cases that took place from September 2018 to July 2019. In particular, she focused on the prohibition of LGBT+ symbols at the football stadium on 9 September 2018, the developments around the pride march scheduled for 18-23 June 2019 and the enhancement of homophobic ultra-right-wing groups. According to the Public Defender, it is clear that the measures taken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the protection of LGBT+ people’s freedom of expression are vague and do not prove the existence of a systemic view relating to the protection of human rights or analysis of potential consequences of the cases’, - Is said in the information.  Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to take proactive preventive measures with regard to the intention of the Georgian March to block the entrances to the Tbilisi and Batumi cinemas during the premiere of a movie - And We Dance. ‘The Public Defender explains that the right to assembly protects only the right to peaceful assembly and not the acts aimed at restricting the rights and freedoms of others. For this purpose, the Law of Georgia on Assemblies and Demonstrations imposes certain obligations on the organizers and participants of such actions; inter alia, it prohibits the blockage of the entrances to the premises during assemblies and demonstrations’, - Is mentioned in the statement. Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes a blog post: The Challenges That Female Public Figures Face in Georgia. “The subject of women's social life and participation in politics has recently been widely discussed in the public. The majority of the population in Georgia hold a positive view on women’s participation in public life. According to public opinion polls, 65% of Georgians support the introduction of a mandatory gender quota in the parliament. Important legislative changes have been adopted in recent years to strengthen women's rights, including through the efforts of the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia. However, from a legal point of view, the progress loses its value if there is no effective response from the state and the ruling political groups on the instances of psychological terror against women on the basis of their political and public activism and critical positions”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations demand to grant a legal status to those affected as a result of June 20-21 developments and release a special statement. “We call on the General Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia: to grant immediately a status of victim to all those people, who have been injured as a result of actions taken by law enforcers during June 20-21 developments; conduct an effective and impartial investigation in the current case in a timely manner; taking into account high public interest, periodically inform public about the progress of the investigation in the current case”. Read more… Source: article42.ge

Computer courses are conducted for women and girls from self-help groups in Akhmeta, Telavi, Lagodekhi and Tetritskaro municipalities. Read more… Source: Social network